So he's my trip in a nutshell:
Back in April I was able to take advantage of the $56 a night Bungalow Suite at the MGM Grand (via their Twitter Thursday offer). My previous trips to Vegas I have stayed at the Motel 6 on Tropicana (I didn't even want to sleep there) and the Stratosphere (which was clean and $39 a night as my friends were staying at the Riviera for a pool tournament seemingly close to the Riviera it seems close to the Riviera on paper but in reality is a long walk).
My Mom isn't a huge gambler so she really wanted to see LOVE, I scoured the net and found the $144 tickets for $88 a piece on the Sunday the we arrived.
Beyond that nothing was planned. We talked about doing a Hoover Dam/Lake Mead tour and maybe seeing other things. But I looked up the prices and it was $100 for two people. So the Saturday before our trip I booked a rental through Payless for $30 a day for a mid sized (I'm way above average height for a woman so no compact or smaller for me).
A few hours later the day of our trip had arrived....
Our flight left Tampa at 5:30 AM for Hell on Earth aka Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Delta (Doesn't Even Leave The Airport). We live about 35-40 minutes from TPA and I set my alarm for 2:30 AM which gives me an hour to get ready and we should be at the airport by 4:15 at the latest. Somehow in all my excitement I set my alarm and then FORGOT to turn on my alarm. I woke up at 3:30 showered and threw all my toiletries into a bag, I decided to put on my make up in Atlanta since we had over an hour and a half layover in Atlanta, I put lots of faith in Delta forgetting the numerous times I have been delayed, rerouted, canceled, etc on them. This was my vacation and I was going to be positive. I zipped my luggage and somehow we were on the road at 4:05. We made it to A-1 Expresses new facility on Spruce/O'brien @ 4:30 to drop off the toaster I drive, thank God FHP took the night off on the Veterans Expressway. We went through security once again my Mom was pulled aside by the TSA people (as she is every time she flies) and was subjected to the random search and body scan. I keep telling her she has an invisible ink Al Queda tattoo on her forehead that only the TSA can see.
We arrived at our gate and were some of the last people on the plane.
Oh I decided to bite the bullet and take 1 carry-on that would fit under my seat and check a bag, I was quite glad I did people are getting ridiculous with the stuff and the size of their carry ons IMO.
We get on the plane the doors shut we watch the security video with the Delta flight attendant who has the most perfectly sculpted cheekbones and her lips look like overinflated life rafts, I cannot pay attention to the video for the millionth time I've watched it as I try to ponder who her plastic surgeon might possibly be.
We sit there, we pull away from the jet way, they turn the engines on, the lights go off in the cabin, the emergency lights come on. The flight crew looks un-phased. We start to move... back towards the jetway! ARGH! They need to have mechanics come on the plane and take a generator offline. We sit for an hour we are then notified that we should be leaving in 10 minutes. NOW we get water from the flight attendants.
Finally our plane takes off and I wonder if it will fall apart in mid air.
Oh I also needed caffeine and drank Delta's coffee, in the future I will be sticking to coke, while it is also brown in color it has flavor which I could not say of Delta's coffee.
We arrive in ATL and run from the A terminal to the T terminal. Arrive at the gate as they are starting to board first class and delta elite. Yeah I can use the bathroom! But I don't have time to put on any make up.
Finally boarded the plane to LAS and we are on our way.
We arrive in LAS and the airport is much bigger than I remember it. It seems everyone has taken TPA's idea and put the terminals a shuttle ride away from baggage and ticketing.
The good news is our baggage arrived in Vegas the same time we did. We grabbed our bags and headed for the car rental shuttle. It was only 10:30 so we had time to kill before we could check into the MGM. We drive up the strip and looked at all the new hotels and buildings. Also all the buildings that are seemingly under construction but have been abandoned due to the current economic climate. We find a Vons store on Sahara and buy a few things (a bottle of wine, some half & half, water, Gatorade). If I had known there was a Whole Food right by the airport we wouldn't have stopped at Vons but I didn't see the whole foods, so.
We get back in the car and there is an In N Out on Sahara and we have lunch, we've been up since 3:30 EDT so you can say I ate the cheese burger in about 30 seconds.
We hit the Mirage Box office to pick up our LOVE tickets. The Mirage is really nice. I had debated if I wanted to stay there or the MGM, in the end the rate I got from the MGM was better.
We head down to the MGM and I realize the Las Vegas drivers are no different that other drivers, they cut you off whenever possible, a car length between you and the car in front of you means opportunity to get ahead for them. I caught on really quick and teased the driver behind me with that extra space but then put the pedal to the metal and watched him/her get stuck behind a Deuce. HA!
We arrive at the MGM and I navigate my way through what seems to be the world's largest parking garage. We find a space and grab our bags and head to check in. There's a couple hundred other people in the lobby, but they have staff to direct you to (hopefully) the shortest lines. I waited for about half an hour to check in. I ask the check in clerk if I can get a fridge sent up and if I can get strip view. He tells me all the Bungalow Suites that have strip view are smoking. I don't smoke and have bad allergies when I spend time around smokers. I decline. I get the room keys and we head to room 13-204. You would think that with the MGM's history they would skip floor number 13 but I also notice floor #4. So I guess they don't care either way.
We arrive in room 13-204. We get off the Elevators and in the lobby area on the 13th floor are pictures of people who worked for MGM during it's hey day, the man who watches you get off the elevator is Mr Francis Albert Sinatra, so being from NJ I take this as a good omen.
We find our room. The Bungalow suites are big. Yet they are disappointing because I stay in a lot of Suite hotels for business and I guess i have certain expectations of what a suite is. I was aware that this being Vegas suites are not what I would deem a suite (unless I stayed at the Embassy Suites by the convention center or something). There is a hallway down the middle of the room that separates the main living area from the bathroom. the bathroom is HUGE. There's a tub with a shower and a walk in shower. The vanity has 2 sinks. The bathroom has to be at least 100 square feet. The main room itself, the living area has a pullout sleeper sofa and a chair with a coffee table, side table and a TV in a cabinet (the side table is perfectly sized for a coffee pot). There is a small writing desk with 2 chairs in the middle of the room separating the two areas. Then you have the 2 queen beds on the opposite wall is another TV cabinet with space to put your clothes, etc.
Our view overlooked the Hooters Hotel and Casino and the airport. The Hooters from the outside looks just as run down as it did when it was the San Remo. A bit later our fridge arrived and we took a nap. I got up around 6 and got ready for LOVE. I didn't want to run over any drunks on the strip so I said (this could possibly be because I was lacking sleep) we could walk to the Mirage, we would leave around 8, which would give us plenty of time.
Boy was I wrong.
We head out at 8. I thought there were some monorails that connect the casinos...
Yeah I was on the wrong side of the strip.
We walked to the Mirage in 100 degree heat which being from Tampa was quite nice, since we have had 90+ with 100% humidity. I pushed and elbowed my way up the sidewalk, past the gawkers the starers and the porn peddlers.
We get to the Mirage and head to the LOVE Theater. I am glad I picked up the tickets earlier. We get to our seats and now with the cool air blasting on me, I feel cooler and sweatier (yuck).
LOVE is fantastic! I would see it again. Our seats were in section 200 Row P. If you have seen LOVE our row was just above sea level. I loved how the songs came to life and the acrobatics. And Hey Jude is just simply amazing.
After the show we looked for something to eat and found the Carnegie Deli in the MIrage. We shared the Woody Allen which was pastrami & corned beef. It was fantastic and more meat than I eat in a week.
http://twitpic.com/2awc0s
Here's a pic of the sandwich.
After we took a cab and headed back to the MGM.
End of long day #1
Before I begin day 2 here is my only problem with the MGM Grand.
I got locked into the bathroom in the room.
No not out of the room, but locked IN the bathroom.
I pressed the locking mechanism thinking I had locked myself in, but that didn't work, I unlocked the door, I still couldn't get out. And I had left my phone in the room itself so I had to bang on the door for 5 minutes to wake my Mom who was taking a nap.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm locked in the bathroom."
"What did you have to drink downstairs?"
"Drink??? Nothing we haven't been here long enough."
"No really? How many martini's did you have?"
"Oh My God, will you just open the door?"
Jiggle jiggle jiggle
"I can't open the door you locked it from the inside."
I repress and depress the lock
"It's unlocked."
"No it's not."
"I swear to (insert curse word here) God I unlocked the door."
Jiggle Jiggle Jiggle
"I still can't open the door, are you sure you unlocked it?"
"(very long string of curse words)"
"Ok Ok, give me a minute."
Jiggle Jiggle Jiggle Door Swings open.
"There."
Five minutes later after I tell my Mom not to close the door all the way, I go back in the bathroom and close the door.
*knock knock knock*
"Mom?
"What?"
"I locked myself in again..."
After this I put one of the shower mats in the doorway.
Shortly after I called to the front desk.
"MGM Grand Front Desk"
"Hi I'm in room 13-204 and the bathroom door is broken and I keep getting locked in the bathroom."
"Um, I'm sorry could you repeat that?"
"There is a problem with the bathroom door and when you go to open it from in the bathroom it will not open."
"Ok, so your bathroom door is broken."
"Yes, and I keep getting stuck inside, I'm lucky I'm here with someone or housekeeping would be saving me tomorrow morning."
"Oh! I'll send someone up from maintenance right away."
20 minutes later maintenance guy shows up and he's pretty nice. Complains about the quality of the stuff they use. He tells us the doors at the hotel regularly break and he's constantly breaking into bathroom's with crow bars to help people get out. The Schlage lock he put in costs over $100 and he expects he'll replace it again within 6 months.
Day #2
We decided to drive to the Hoover Dam. It's only about 30 miles from the strip. It takes about 3 hours to get there. You go through Boulder city and head up 93. about a mile up you stop. It's bumper to bumper the rest of the way to the dam. Be prepared & bring lots of water and snacks. You end up stopping at a security check point. Roll down the windows let the Parks person look inside your car and boom you're on your way.
You pay $7 to park in the Hoover Dam lot, if you drive over the bridge to the AZ side there are parking lots without attendants (although I could be wrong I just made a U turn in one of the lots).
The new bridge is spectacular looking:
The drive is worth is, and I did get video driving across the dam.
We headed back to the strip for lunch.
We go back and head into Caesar's Palace for lunch. Once of the booklets the MGM gave us said all you can eat sushi at Hyakumi from 11:30 to 3:30. I personally haven't met a sushi or a sashimi or a Nigiri that I haven't liked. Ok, they never said anything about all you can eat sushi but we had 2 large 8 piece rolls so I didn't complain. It was about $25 for the 2 of us so it was quite good. My Mom isn't a big fan of of rice so she likes the Sushi with the nori on the outside. They made it with the rice on the outside. Mom was not happy, but she learned something. The place where we get our sushi the sushi chef is from SE Asia, where the sushi rice is typically drier, sushi chefs from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan typically use a moister rice which my Mom enjoyed. She did enjoy the sushi (I didn't get to order anything unusual like eel or anything) and we walked back through Caesar's back to the Free Parking every casino on the strip offers.
We went back to the MGM Mom took a nap, I check my e-mail, since I was pay for it via the resort fee I might as well use it right?
So tonight we decided to head up the strip and take a walk through some of casinos.
Our first stop was at SeaBlue at the MGM Grand for their Happy Hour. The bartenders were super nice and the happy hour choices while limited were amazing:
http://twitpic.com/2b3vkx
The Menu
http://twitpic.com/2b3wfz
The Shrimp
http://twitpic.com/2b3yhx
My Martini
We went back the next night for the shrimp, it was that good + the staff were cool.
We headed out up the strip. My Mom wanted to check out the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood as we approached PH we laughed and giggled about how much we didn't want to see Holly Madison in Peepshow. She walked around while I hit Fat Tuesdays for a Superman w/an extra shot of I'm guessing based on how it tasted 151. I waited for a few minutes for her sitting in the seating area til she came back and she didn't. Oh poop how am I supposed to explain to my brother that I lost my mother at the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, and where can I find a t-shirt place that will put that on a t-shirt.
Finally she came back, she didn't find anything exciting.
We then headed across to the Bellagio and watched the Fountains, they are by far the best free show in Vegas (better than Fremont St, which I will get to later).
We went inside the Bellagio to the conservatory where they have a beautiful display going on. I took a lot of pictures in there. We came back out and walked down the west side of the strip passed by City Center Aria, etc.
On the way back to the MGM we hit the late night happy hour at Nobhill Tavern.
If you take anything away from this it will be not to go there.
We sat in a booth by the bar, we waited for 5 minutes and the manager came over and asked if we had been served. We had not. He took our order. The happy Hour menu that the MGM has on their website is not what they have now. They advertise snacks and finger foods but unlike Seablue they don't tell you which snacks and fingers foods are on the menu. We ordered the New England Lobster Rolls which are more like chunks of Lobster on bruschetta and the BBQ Pulled-Pork Finger Sandwiches which were the same as well. You only get 3 of them for $8, but they were very tasty.
The drinks are unusual, my Mom had something with Ginger beer and I had a gimlet.
We waited another 25 minutes to get our check. By this time 5 or 6 couples had entered the bar sat down for 2 minutes and left. I don't know if it was the menu or the service but to me to see that many people leave your restaurant that quickly in this economy would be concerning.
We finally flagged someone down and our bill was $34 w/tax, I was paying with my room card for mostly everything in the MGM but this time, I paid cash and left a $2 tip (i typically tip 20% for good service 15% for eh ,this was just plan bad).
I stopped at Zuri by the elevators for another drink or 2, Mom went back up to the room, the cosmo's there were excellent, I chatted with a couple from Wales who were surprised I knew where it was (I may have gone to public school but typically I'm not an idiot).
Around 1 I headed up to the room for the next day's adventure
The next day we headed out to Valley of Fire State Park.
The Park is about an hour North & East of the Strip and well worth the drive. It was probably worth the cost of the rental car.
Be sure once again to take plenty of water, snacks and you may want to pick up a sandwich or something to eat while you're out there (there are no snack shops, or anything just a bath room every couple of miles and vending machines with overpriced trail mix in the visitors center). Also be sure to have fresh camera batteries and plenty of space on your SD card.
There is a $10 admission per vehicle to enter the park, but its worth it.
It may not have been a good idea to go out there during August as it was as hot as Hades out there. We didn't do a lot of hiking but if it were cooler I think we would have walked further down some of the trails. Even without the hiking the place is spectacular.
The colors and rock formations are amazing. It's not as visually overwhelming as the grand canyon nor as large in scale but it's a close 2nd or 3rd (I've never been to Bryce or Zion Natl Parks so I can't compare).
We headed back to the strip around 1:15, we stopped at the Iron Skillet by the Speedway to grab some lunch because by this time I was ready to munch on rocks.
We get back around 2:45 and head straight to the MGM's expansive pool complex. I wanted to spend more of my time by the pool but it wasn't meant to be. I rented a float and cruised along the river until 5:30.
The river is awesome, you will get wet.
While we were there I got 2 frozen drinks that may have allegedly contained alcohol, I will say allegedly as I felt no effects whatsoever of any alcohol. Oh and for $15 a pop I expect to get slightly tipsy. But I guess the MGM's Bar management staff has other ideas for pool etiquette.
We headed back to the room, got ready for dinner. We headed back down to Seablue for happy hour cocktails and then went to Grand Wok for dinner. It was ok. Not great, not worth what you paid for your meal by any means. I had Kung Pow Chicken and I eat the spicy chicken dishes all the time, General Tsu's etc, but this it was over spiced so I couldn't even enjoy the other flavors or taste the chicken. Their sushi looked really good and I wished I had gotten that instead. Mom had sweet & sour chicken which had a soft orange colored sauce versus the fire engine red (fake) sauce that she's used to. She enjoyed her dish.
After this we went to the players club and I decided to gamble a bit. Signed up for the players club, if you sign up with the MGM Mirage players club at the MGM between now and the end of the year you get a coupon for 2-1 tickets to KA. I didn't get to use them since the show was closed Monday & Tuesday (I believe I could be wrong). Oh if you get 1500 points in one day you get 2 free tickets to KA!
Played some video poker, got a free drink, lost $10 (not bad). Went up to the room around 10:30 since I was falling asleep on my feet (a combination of sun air & water I'm guessing)
The last day.
This is always the worst day of a vacation, the day when you leave your destination.
I had called the front desk the night before and asked if Late Check out would be available, the Bungalow suites were sold out so it was not but we could stay in the room until 1 PM at no charge. I explained to the front desk that my flight left at 1:00 AM on 8/5, she then told me I could stay until 2 PM on 8/4 at no additional charge!
Thank you MGM Grand.
We got up and my Mom was insistent we needed to go to the CSI Experience, since she watches CSI every freaking day and re-runs and CSI NY & Miami.
So we went to the box office in the Studio Walk, showed our room keys and got $5 off. So the price was $21.
It says on there it will take between 60-90 minutes to complete.
I was done in 45.
You get to chose 1 of 3 murder scenes and determine who the killer is. It was really interesting about the forensics and the different technology that they use. The experience uses the old cast as William Petersen is playing Gil Grissom. You can pay another $25 and do all 3 scenes, I think they should let you decide if you want to do all 3 for the $21 or $25.
Was it worth the $21, maybe for a die hard CSI fan, but for anyone else it feels like a bit of a rip off.
After this we went back up to the room finished packing and headed down to check out. People were already checking in (and getting keys, 3 PM is the "Suggested" check in time I guess?)
I got my receipt and here's the interesting thing. I booked my room in April, I was aware of the resort fee, I was OK with it since I like having internet access, I was given a list of things I received because of the resort fee at check in (the USA Today, internet, drink coupon, etc).
I WAS NOT CHARGED THE RESORT FEE!!!!
I did not ask about the fee being waived or anything. I guess they had so many complaints from people who booked before 7/4 that they are just waiving it.
We decided to kill the next 12 hours by doing some sightseeing. in the span of 6 hours we saw the following casinos:
Paris - Wish we had gotten there sooner, they have some really nice places to eat that are much cheaper than the MGM. There was a sandwich shop right near the crepe place that for $11 you got a foot long sandwich (with more meat than Subway) a drink and chips. I saved half the sandwich for dinner there was that much meat on it.
Venetian (and shoppes)
Wynn/Encore
TI
Mirage
We then headed up to Fremont ST around 6 PM.
Fremont St needs to learn from the Strip about parking. The hotels on the strip all have free parking, this whole validation thing is a pain in the butt.
We parked at Four Queens and walked through the Casino to FSE. I will say this all the casinos do a great job keeping the bathrooms clean, if only airports would learn from this, maybe travel would be slightly less offensive.
We parked ourselves at the Starbucks in the Golden Nugget where we had outdoor seats right under the FSE canopy of lights. As time got closer to 8:30 the "freaks" came out. Standing near us was a Kenny Rogers impersonator (the singer of the Gambler not the baseball pitcher FYI) with a well I will quote my Mom here, "That's not a Dolly Parton impersonator, I have more in the chest than she does and that's not saying much..."
Needless to say we did not have our picture taken with Dolly or Kenny. There was a HORRIBLE Gene Simmons impersonator with a fake tongue. I hope Gene sics his lawyers on this dude because it was bad to the point of embarrassment (when you can't walk in platform shoes in public, maybe its not a good idea to impersonate someone who does).
We saw the Don MacLean show, and shortly there after left.
The slots on Fremont St were hot all the casinos we walked through were constantly going *ching ching ching ching ching*
We headed back down the strip to the airport. I HAD to stop at the Las Vegas sign since I had been there twice before and this was the first time I had seen it.
We headed to the car rental drop off, dropped off the car, headed inside.
I had been super good all day, no drinking for me. So I wanted a drink. we flew home Continental where I did not pay a baggage fee because of my Continental Credit Card (yeah!) so in that terminal there is a Chili's Too & a Wolfgang Puck Express. Chili's closes at 10, and Wolfgang Puck is open til Midnight. The bartender at Wolfgang Puck, and I don't know if she's there all the time, but she will bankrupt that location with her looseness in pouring drinks. She's an older lady (maybe in her mid-late forties early fifties maybe) with glasses. If you see her by a drink from her. 1 bottle of wine was maybe 2.5 glasses.
Continental boarded our plane at 12:15 for a 1 AM take off. I think we were off the ground before 1 am. I fell asleep before we left the airport.
We safely made it back to Tampa, but not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I came home with a nasty cold.
Some pictures.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debee1015/sets/72157624667760204/with/4867522080/
Ok couldn't go an entire post with a Bon Jovi reference so here is the most heartbreaking reference I could provide. I took this photo about 10 years ago, the sign has changed (and my new picture will be posted after) but the sad memories remain:
from October 2000
August 2010
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